i've been thinking, and i find that the very technology we are to embrace (hence this training) is also somewhat of an enemy. perhaps that's too strong a word. a... nuisance, let's say.
what led me to this conclusion? well, obviously i work at the library (or i woudn't be doing this training) and it has become my habit to listen and observe while i work. i like to label the days: is it a quiet day, or a loud day?
yesterday was a quiet day, and i thought, this is what libraries should sound like. all you could hear was the sound of typing, the occasional murmurs as people talked with each other, or the cheerful voices of the LAs as they greeted customers. today was downright rowdy; storytime, lots of voices, lots of typing, cell phones ringing...
i'm not voting we get rid of storytime or discourage customers (that's what we're here for, after all!), just deploring that the technology sort of gets in the way. i guess this is where i tell you i absolutely hate, loathe, abominate, and DESPISE cell phones. i think they're the plague and it drives me absolutely insane that people can't seem to go anywhere - anywhere!!!!! - without them. can't they at least have the decency to turn the stinkin' things off when they're in the sacred atmosphere of the library?!
libraries, at least to me, should be sacred places that are different than anywhere else you can go in public. in my oc days, walking into the library was like going to a different dimension. as soon as you pass those doors, it's cell phones off, whispers on, tread carefully, and don't make noise. it was amazing. even though there might be fifty or more students in that building, you wouldn't know it because everyone observed the cardinal rule of the library: quiet. is it wrong to ask the public to abide by the same rules? what's changed? are we afraid of infringing on people's freedom? will they keel over dead if they have to turn their cell phones off for half an hour? am i being unreasonable?
i guess i see the library as the last frontier, so to speak, and it's rapidly disappearing. well, maybe i should amend that to the library's atmosphere being the last frontier. where else can you go for that blissful silence filled with knowledge waiting to be discovered? barnes and noble has more of that now than the library does! how sad is that?
maybe what i really should be deploring is people's sense of that atmosphere. why do they observe it more carefully in a book store like barnes and noble but not in a library where it all started?
ideally, it would be great to separate the computers from everything else (an element of the oc library that i really appreciate), and turn the cell phones off at the door.
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3 comments:
Blahdy blah bleg,
xx yy vqr/
Hi toad.
I totally agree about the library atmosphere. I've been noticing more and more of the loudness. Cell phones especially. And while you're confined to making only a mention of it, I will take the freedom I have and say that to all those rude people with cell phones, TURN THE DANG THINGS OFF!!! You silly people! And story time, GET A ROOM!!! It's SO obnoxious to hear those silly children screaming child-obscenities when you're just trying to get a little peace and quiet in a book! okay, enough of my hate-fest. I do love the library and the peace that comes with it. The way you described it is it's quintessence.
when i was at the UW, the graduate library at Suzzalo was a sanctuary like you describe. there was a winding stone staircase, illuminated only by stained-glass windows, that led to a floor where tiny cubicles were nestled in amongst the shelves. i don't remember much of what i read there, but i clearly remember just the feeling of being there.
bc
Amen! I couldn't agree more. While I don't mind the laughter and playing of children (though, when they start throwing a tantrum, they should be dragged outside), I do draw the line at cell phones. Cell phones in the grocery store? Sure. Mall? No problem. But we are not a store-we are a public space, dedicated to the preservation and distribution of the combined wisdom of our civilization. Show some respect!
When I was back in Michigan a few years ago, I took my daughter and sister to the Detroit Public Library. As soon as you walk through the door you're surrounded by those high ceilings, long windows, granite pillars, and a hush falls over you. It sounds and feels just like a library should.
Damn fine posting.
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